


The Chasm

by truc



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics), Injustice: Gods Among Us
Genre: Angst, But not that much, Canon Divergent, Character Study, Feelings, Gen, No Fluff, POV Second Person, Past, Wedding, friendship gone sour, old friends becoming enemies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 07:45:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20272417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/truc/pseuds/truc
Summary: Set after the Injustice: Gods amongst us, Batman visits Superman in his red light prison to let him know he's marrying Selina Kyle.





	The Chasm

You pass all the security. By now, it is routine.

Your cape whip behind as you make your way to your best friend's cell. There's more on your mind than you care to dissect. 

Armour can only shield you against the physical onslaught. Still, you wrap yourself in it to protect your mind. 

The world is recovering. People are repairing the infrastructure; politicians are preparing for senseless debates.

They ask for your guidance. How can they still be this naive, you think. You're not on the path of recovery. You're the one frozen in time.

The hallway is long-winding. Maybe Harley is right; maybe you did construct it that way to digest your guilt. 

Clark looks disinterestedly at you when you open the door. Under the red light, he's weaker than you. Sometimes you wonder if he remembers it.

You bet he dreams of torturing you to death. He's not the only one in the room who does. 

You wait. Clark always speaks first. Maybe it's time to change patterns. You don't know how to. 

Clark stands, looks at you and smirks. He sees your weaknesses, your hesitation, even without his x-ray vision. 

"Are you here to taunt me, Bruce?" he aggressively asks. 

Taunting is the last thing on your mind.

"No," you answer. 

Clark looks at you expectantly. "How much did you twist this world? Are you the new world leader?" And sneering, he adds, "Tell me, are you monitoring everyone with your fancy gadgets?" 

You feel shivers run up your spine. Even if you are not the world leader, you did build a computer who could monitor almost anything in this world. And you know how this proves Clark's point. 

You're a control freak with no one to keep you in check. There's no Justice League and your sidekick is a deranged psychiatrist. 

Clark knows how much you can mess up this world. He's seen it before. 

Your paranoia, once a running gag in the League, has become ever-encompassing. Everyone will betray you, either by dying before their time or by switching sides. You know you shouldn't generalize. But data does not lie.

You are the one who keeps your paranoia in check. And you know you are a terrible candidate for the job. 

Anxiety wells in your chest. It's your fault the world is messed up. You should be the one in jail.

But they won't imprison you. In the most hopeless circumstances, they need a hero. And you drew the short straw. 

"I'm getting married," you announce. Surprise and something else filters in his eyes. You rather not analyze it.

"Congratulations," Clark finally says. His eyes say the opposite. 

You stand there, looking at one another. The distance between you is a chasm neither can cross. If there's anything Harvey Dent and Thomas Elliot taught you, it's that former friends make the worst enemies. Clark had grown much closer to you than Harvey or Thomas ever were.

"Is it Selina?" Clark asks. 

"Yes." 

His lips thin. Even though Clark never told you as much, you know he's never quite understood why we were together. He's too polite to comment on it.

"Are you planning on having children?" Clark asks. His innocuous tone is at odds with his complicated expression. 

You are uncertain whether Clark is worried you'd lose the child as he did, or if he wants it to happen to you. A long time ago, you'd have confidently claimed Clark was worried about the child being raised in this high-risk world by someone against whom legions have grudges. Nowadays, you'd have to use Dent's penny to guess. 

"No," you answer. After losing Jason, Damian, Dick and Tim, you know you shouldn't raise children. After Superman's loss, you don't have that right. 

Clark's face turns impassive. "When's the wedding?"

"It's a private ceremony tonight." You are ill at ease under Clark's piercing gaze. 

"Of course, you'd marry in the dark," Clark answered, a hint of anger permeating his tone. His hand touches the window between you. "You've always hated having your feelings dragged in the open."

You deserve every word he says, every lash of his whip. 

He lost his wife and child. You're getting married.

"Have you even confessed to her?" Clark petulantly insists. 

Confessionals were a place you hadn't stepped in since your parents' death. You'd let spiderwebs grow in your inner confessional. You produced too many transgressions and held too many sinful feelings. Prioritizing the present felt more urgent. It always did.

You shoved aside feelings and regrets and the faces associated with them. 

You didn't tell Selina everything and Clark knows it. Maybe the concern on his face isn't feigned. You think it's worse if it isn't. 

You hear the alarm you've set. In this place, you lose track of time; you need your Ariadne's string to guide you back to reality.

"I need to go. Goodbye, Clark," you state more than say. 

"Congratulations," Clarks repeats, this time more quietly, more thoughtful. 

You wade across the room to the entrance. You shut the past behind the door and walk away.


End file.
